This is a novel about the mood with which people come to France and with which they leave it. Marianne is the symbol of the French Republic. She plays the role of a kind stepmother, and many are in a hurry to hide under the lush skirts of a passionate maiden. Some - in joyful, vain hope, others - out of despair. This is the story of a man who left Russia for some time, and then returned with a new strange experience. A novel about love and dislike in a city where love is in the air, and dislike is an anomaly.